Before, gaining exposure as an aspiring music artist is hard. After that, establishing a fan base that will catapult you to the charts is harder. But now that social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, plus video-sharing sites like YouTube and Vimeo are here, gone were the days when looking for a network to play your song is such a hassle. Using that method to share your skills will also let you attract fans.

However, if you cannot get the right number that you want that will catapult you to stardom in the music charts, you can always buy virtual fans. This was revealed by Newsbeat lately.

According to the research conducted by the news program of BBC, there is a significant number of music artists who purchase social networking statistics to elevate them into the chart listings. The said statistics include YouTube views, followers in Twitter and likes in Facebook. Even comments, for authentication and marketing purposes, can be bought for an extra cost.

Based on the research, 10,000 YouTube views can be bought for as low as £30 or just around $45. Martin V., someone who runs a company that generates social networking stats, confirmed this. He said that his company offers tens of thousands of Facebook likes, YouTube Views and comments for less than £100 or $150 in the U.S.

BBC did not reveal the names of the artists it discovered who are buying virtual fans. But it has made an example of how figures can get artists discovered by major producers or talent scouts. It sets Sonna Rele as an example of an artist who was featured in YouTube for her overwhelming fan base, which the singer Ne-Yo noticed later. Now, Rele is among the singers managed by the celebrity. Another YouTube sensation who definitely made it big after garnering a massive number of hits was Justin Bieber.

I can personally attest to this kind of activity because I witnessed people buying hits for their videos, products and fanpage in online job sites like Craiglist and oDesk. From what I observed, that amount of hits can be purchased for a price less than what BBC stated. I have seen individuals looking for people who can generate tens of thousands of hits for a product or can gather virtual fans for a person’s profile or post for as low as $5 to $10.

There are artists as well who are willing to pay a person who will buy their songs which are sold online. From what I have experienced, the rate is double than the amount that the song costs. So for instance, if the artist wants me to buy his song featured in a website for $5, doing so would get me $10. That requires a proof of purchase though which usually comes as a screenshot of the completed order or you can do it by sending an authenticated copy of the purchased product back to the artist. That means getting a free song and earning $5 for it. The purpose of this is for the song to get enough buys in order for it to climb into the top position of the website’s charts and to gain enough exposure in the online community.

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